PGS boosts employee engagement on autopilot in 7 countries through their internal merchandise program

About PGS Group: PGS Group operates within the wooden packaging industry. With over 30 years of experience they are an important and experienced logistic partner. PGS Group operates in 9 countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Latvia, Morocco and the United States. They employ more than 900 employees, spread over a total of more than 40 sites.

Employee appreciation and brand visibility

PGS Group, recognizing the importance of employee appreciation and brand visibility, wanted to provide branded merchandise to boost morale and create a sense of unity among its global workforce. Unlike previous initiatives limited to HQ employees, this time they aimed to include all employees, including those working abroad. They needed a solution that allowed employees to choose their preferred items, avoid excess production, and streamline the process efficiently.

Designing Tailored Merchandise

Collaborating closely, Sunday and PGS Group developed a diverse range of high-quality merchandise items, including t-shirts, softshells, caps, business shirts, and more. The designs were meticulously crafted to align with the company's brand identity, ensuring a professional and cohesive appearance across all items.

Creating an Employee-Centric Webshop

One of the questions PGS Group had was how they could efficiently give all their employees a box of clothes they would actually be happy with, without a lot of administrative work.
With Sunday, we therefore proposed to build an internal web shop for them, containing the entire collection. The link to the webshop could then easily be shared with all employees. The user-friendly interface provided detailed descriptions and visuals, empowering employees to make personalized choices.

Each of the employees were assigned a certain number of coins with which they could "purchase" their favourite pieces on the webshop.
The webshop is "opened" to the employees 4 times a year, and new items are added every now and then. So one is given the choice of whether they want to use all their coins at once or save some more for the new items.

A major advantage of this approach is that PGS could determine in advance the amount they wanted to award each employee. That way, they already know exactly what amount will be spent that year in terms of merchandise. Talking about effective budget management.

Personalized Selection Experience

Empowering employees to select items tailored to their needs and preferences became the cornerstone of the initiative. Some employees opted for t-shirts (for instance teams who work in warmer weather conditions), while others chose softshells paired with socks. This personalized approach ensured that employees received merchandise suitable for their respective working environments in their preferred size, fostering a strong sense of ownership.

Innovative coin based rewards

In addition to the annual allocation of 20 coins, PGS Group introduced an innovative reward system. Employees earned extra coins by creating social content about the company, organizing after-hours events, or achieving accident-free sites for a year. These initiatives not only recognized their efforts but also fostered a sense of pride and camaraderie. The coin-based rewards system proved instrumental in encouraging active employee engagement and reinforcing a positive workplace culture at PGS Group.

Data-Driven Production Planning

As employees made their selections, Sunday and PGS Group gained valuable insights into popular items and quantities needed. Utilizing this data, precise production planning was implemented. By producing only the necessary items, excess inventory was minimized, leading to significant cost savings for PGS Group.

Efficient Global Distribution

Following production, Sunday managed the global distribution process meticulously. Branded merchandise was efficiently dispatched to employees across diverse geographical locations. By opening the webshop 4 times a year, PGS is sure that orders are placed at the same time each time, which is advantageous for both production numbers and shipments. This means that a bulk shipment containing all selected items can be sent to different locations each time, which is significantly more cost-efficient than having to send small quantities multiple times.

Conclusion

With the help of Sunday's expertise in designing top-notch merchandise and getting it to people, PGS Group was able to show appreciation to their employees and recognise their personal needs. On top of that they made it possible to create extra brand visibility not only at HQ but at all departments worldwide.